The Power of Pretending

CS Lewis cited the power of pretending in his work Mere Christianity as formative in becoming like Christ. The Christian, he suggests, is clothed with Christ, yet often begins the Christian life in a way that looks very far removed from what people think a Christian ought to look like.
And so there's the power of pretending, in the best sense of the imagination. We pretend to be that which we aren't, so that the Holy Spirit is given room and our souls are formed to become that which we play at - a real Christian.
Here my boys are pretending on two fronts - pretending to be cowboys. In our present reality they want to be cowboys but we don't have cows or horses, yet that isn't stopping them, they're in the process of becoming real.
The second pretending is more important - they're pretending to love their sister. In truth we all do this with new babies, at least this my experience as a guy. Here we're called to love with Agape, love from within that is not dependent at all upon someone else. Aravis has little if anything to give, she's a consumer. She doesn't articulate thoughts so there isn't an attraction to be interested in her based on a sterling intellect. If one is looking for a reason to love, it can only be agape, love that flows from an inner spring, not of the loved, but of the lover. Here my boys are pretending to love and in reality are doing a very well.
It's too bad we unlearn the power of playful games; pretending to be cowboys and becoming one. Pretending to love out of a pure heart and really doing it.